This invention relates to improvements in furniture of the sofa bed type in which a foldable bed frame mechanism is operatively mounted in a sofa frame to fold outwardly when used as a bed and to fold inwardly in a compact manner to form the seat when used as a sofa.
Sofa bed constructions of the type exemplified usually employ a foldable polyurethane foam or innerspring mattress laid over a link fabric which is connected by helicals of coil springs to an articulated foldable frame. The head support section of the frame usually is lockable in an inclined upright position thereby allowing the user to lie on the device with the head and shoulders raised when it is in bed defining position so as to better read, watch television, etc.
It is an important object of the present invention to provide a means for raising the knees of the user so as to provide additional comfort and relaxation for the user when the device is in bed defining position.
It is a further object to provide a swingable bar pivotably attached to the frame and movable from a flat position adjacent to the mattress supporting fabric to a raised position against a stop, thereby forming a knee supporting hump in the mattress.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a tie means for the mattress supporting fabric to anchor the fabric to a frame cross member intermediate the ends of the fabric, thereby minimizing pressure from the fabric to the raised head section of the frame, which pressure has a tendency to urge the frame head section into flat position.
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.
There are earlier patents which disclose raised mattresses, but their devices usually have complicated mechanisms for raising or lowering the mattresses, or are not associated with a sofa bed configuration. Among these are Bartz U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,573 which shows a hospital bed with raisable head and intermediate sections; Woolley U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,567 and Shields 167,700 which show invalid beds or lounges with raisable head and intermediate sections; McLaughlin U.S. Pat. No. 1,639,462 which shows a foot end mattress adjusting apparatus; Fox U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,504 which shows a cot having webbing on a frame of which the head and intermediate sections can be raised and lowered; and Starks U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,605 which shows a reclining chair having a movable head section and means for raising a mattress beneath the knee area.
The present invention comprises a rotatable bar movable from a flat position to an over center raised position to raise a sofa bed mattress beneath the knee area of one laying on the bed. The invention further comprises means for restraining a woven spring supported fabric on an articulated sofa bed frame from applying undue pressure to a raised head section of the frame. The invention also consists in the parts and mechanisms of the embodiment disclosed herein and set forth in the claims which form part of the specification.